Still don't own Chrono Trigger. I'm changing to a bi-weekly schedual, so if you missed Wednesday's update, go read. The final cast is getting assembled, so hopefully the number of characters will be easier on you all.
Janus stayed in the shadows of the dining room, watching 'Master' Ozzie and his three generals argue among themselves. Flea was currently bitching, "But why can't I raid Porre?"
"Because we are focused on Choras right now," Tihl growled, causing the serving girl to jump a little. Janus thought she'd better learn to toughen up, or she wouldn't last much longer.
"How is the war on Choras coming, anyway?" Ozzie asked, taking a drink of his blue beer.
Slash answered that one, shrugging slightly. "About as well as can be expected, really. Which reminds me, I heard an interesting story when I was down there."
"Oh really?" Flea asked, not really interested.
"The boy," Slash motioned at Janus, who was not happy with attention being directed at him. "Confirmed it, when I asked. Apparently, one of our mercenaries brought his slave to the infirmary to help out. The weird thing was, though, she had a tech. A healing tech. Boy said she was wearing the colors of a healer-mage, and working with them."
Flea gave a slight gasp, finding the news far more interesting than she had expected. She had been looking for humans with techs, but so far none had survived capture. "Do you know who this mercenary was?" she said, trying to sound disinterested.
Black eyes glittered under violet brows. Slash knew the magician General had been doing research on techs and magic, and had fully expected this reaction from her. "An Outlaw, I believe. By the name of Esaku."
"The one who lost three Hench taking that farming village a month ago?" Tihl snorted, clearly not impressed. "Why would someone like that be living in a hole like that?" He gave a short laugh, reaching for a dish from the slave girl. The girl, already nervous, jumped again, though this time her reaction had disastrous results.
Janus bit back a groan as meat and gravy from the slave's platter slid into Flea's lap. Flea stood with a surprised yelp, and the slave, in what was not the smartest move possible, dropped the half-full platter and threw herself to the ground, muttering apologies in broken Medinian.
There was silence as the others waited for Flea's explosion. To their surprise, she knelt by the cowering slave and spoke gently. "There now," the pink-haired mage soothed. "You didn't mean to do that. Stand up," she placed a slim finger under the girl's chin and stood, drawing the slave up with her. "Don't be afraid. You're going to come with me, to find out about this rumor of a healing Human."
Janus recognized the tone Flea used at the end. Ozzie and the other two Generals recognized it too. Too sweet, too gentle; Flea was using the voice that most heralded death. None of them expected the slave girl to ever return to the castle.
The tune of a child's counting song floated from the wooden house. Lyn was singing to Luke, or at least attempting too. She wasn't very sure on the melody, or even the words, but Luke was laughing gaily, and that was really all the Lyn was going for.
The song stopped when the door opened. Lyn started to stand, ready to greet her Master, but Esaku shook his head slightly, a grim and troubled look in his eyes. With a few quick words, Lyn sent Luke out to play, just as two more people entered the house.
One was a slave, clearly, dressed in the same green that Lyn wore. She looked absolutely terrified of the woman she had followed in.
The other woman was very clearly in charge, as even Esaku, a leader in the village, was differential to her. At first glance, Lyn almost mistook her for a Human-born, but there had never been a Human with pink hair. She wore white, that was the first impression, but her skirt was a dark rose, and her hose red-brown. There was a hard cast to her delicate face, and a cruel light in her lavender eyes. Lyn shivered and looked away.
Barely glancing at Lyn, Flea asked Esaku, "Does she know Medinian yet?"
Esaku's concern was clear in his voice when he answered her. "Not well, Lady Flea. I have been teaching her."
With a slight nod, Flea quickly crossed the room to stand in front of Lyn. "Girl. You can heal?" she drawled, actually taking care to speak clearly.
"I… can, madam," Lyn answered slowly. She was fairly sure that there was a better title to use, but if Flea had addressed her, knowing her Medinian was poor, then surely Flea would be prepared to deal with mistakes.
Hearing Lyn's affirmation, Flea motioned the other slave girl over. When the frightened girl was close enough, the Mazoku woman of unknown race took her hand and tugged it up until the girl raised her arm. Releasing her hand, Flea gave the girl a sweet smile and said, "This is for the food you dropped on me." The brief, melodious chant was said quickly, and with a gesture, a small burst of fire exploded from Flea and impacted the slave. There was one short cry before the flames vanished, and the slave dropped to her knees and whimpered.
Lyn yelled too, from pure surprise, and bound to her feet, recoiling. "What the… you…" she gasped, once more in the Human language, her Medinian deserting her in her horror.
Flea simply raised a brow, while Esaku bowed his head, accepting that he was most likely going to loose Lyn. "Well, girl…?" Flea asked, motioning to the burnt slave. "Can you heal, or no?"
As the question penetrated, Lyn also dropped to her knees, hands hovering over the blistering skin of the other girl. "If I could not?" she whispered, not looking at the Mazoku.
"Then she is burnt, and I waste my time," Flea answered, a velvet knife of malice entering her voice.
Closing her eyes, Lyn concentrated, the necessary mental patterns easier than ever. The power collected at her fingertips, a glowing white ball, and Lyn had to work to keep back a little, realizing this was not a time to exhaust herself. With a mental push, she directed the healing energy into the burnt flesh and muscle. The girl stopped whimpering, but remained curled up.
Standing, Lyn dared a look at Flea's face. Unsettled by the interest she found there, she dropped her gaze. "That what you want see, madam?" she asked, trying desperately to keep the venom from her voice.
To her surprise, the mage lifted Lyn's head, forcing her to meet that hard lavender gaze. Bending near, Flea whispered, breathe against Lyn's face, "Yes. That was… exactly what I wanted to see." Dropping her hand, Flea abruptly turned away from Lyn. "I want her," she declared to Esaku. "Give her to me, and we can forget that… debacle at Algetty."
Esaku hesitated, just for a moment, just long enough for Flea's eyes to begin narrowing. At that, he nodded, spreading his arms with a caw. "She is yours, Lady Flea."
The deal made, Flea headed for the door, Lyn realizing she was supposed to follow a long moment later. Looking at Esaku with a lost gaze, he looked back with sorrow, but made no move to stop her.
Back at the Castle, Flea led Lyn down a dozen or so halls and up at least two staircases. In a way, the castle reminded Lyn of the cave where Tobias had died. It was made of dark stone, with shadows everywhere and only those same magical blue flames for light. No windows pierced the walls to let in sunlight, but there were a fair number of tapestries, most done in blues, greens, violets and blacks, with the occasional flash of yellow and even rarer hint of orange.
After the dimness of the Castle halls, Lyn found Flea's rooms a relief. The eight-sided room they first entered was lit with ordinary yellow lamps. There was a white rug on the floor in front of a red divan. Four of the walls had doors. One was directly across from the hall door, and one door each on the walls directly to the left and right so that if you drew a line through the room connecting the doors, they would make a cross. The other four walls had tapestries, which mostly seemed to feature written Medinian. At least Lyn thought it was Medinian. It didn't really look like the Zenese she'd seen.
Going to the divan, Flea lounged in it, looking at Lyn measuringly. The Human shifted nervously. Frowning a little, Flea asked, "Can you use your 'tech' when no-one is injured, girl?"
Lyn shrugged a little, green hair brushing her skin as she shook her head. "I not try, ah… Master?" she said, struggling. She knew the last word was not entirely correct, but had nothing better to use.
"Mistress," Flea hissed, before firing off another question. "At Choras, did you eat with the mages?"
There was a pause as Lyn worked out the question, and then she nodded slowly. "I…did, Mistress." She didn't like to think about that, though. Esaku's revelation about the herbs had deeply unsettled her, and even with Raulewn caring for her, she had not liked her time at the fort very much.
Flea smiled, a smug look that fit her face well. "And tell me then, girl. Did their food restore your energy?"
Lyn closed her eyes and hung her head. In a way, she was not surprised by Flea's question, but it was not one she wanted to answer. Unconsciously raising her hand to brush her fingers against the pendant Esaku had given her, Lyn replied. "Yes, Mistress. It did."
"Come here, girl," Flea ordered, not unkindly. Lyn slowly approached, stopping a couple of steps away from the reclining Mazoku. That was apparently not close enough for Flea's taste, and the pink haired mage motioned for Lyn to come closer. When she was nearly touching the dark wood of the divan's frame, Flea stopped her. "Kneel," the Mazoku breathed fervently. Lyn did as she was told, dropping heavily to her knees, fear in her brown eyes.
Flea leaned forward and traced Lyn's cheek and jaw with fingers that felt almost slippery, like the skin of the salamanders that had plagued Widow Marie's garden. The Mazoku's skin was dry, though, simply… slick. "So your tech already runs off magic. I had suspected something of the sort," Flea mused, rubbing a lock of Lyn's hair between her fingers. "Though techs do not use one of the elements, do they? How very unusual… How did you get your tech, girl?" Her dreamy tone grew sharp on the last question.
Lyn was very slow to answer, confused by her new Mistress' actions, and not immediately realizing that she had been asked a question that she was supposed to answer. Flea's speech was very confusing, slow and drawling, and the Mazoku used vocabulary far beyond Lyn's meager understanding. "I… ah… have it very young. A-all time."
"Mistress," Flea hissed again, definite anger in her voice. Not giving Lyn time to remedy her omission, the mage continued her interrogation. "You did not learn your tech, girl?"
Shivering, Lyn realized she had had a rather close call. Her new Mistress, it seemed, would not allow her to ever drop the title, and after what she had done to the girl she had brought to Esaku's house, Lyn really didn't want to face Flea's anger. What had happened to the girl, anyway, she wondered. Flea had just… left her, curled up in Esaku's living room. These thoughts quickly passed through Lyn's head, and then she returned to Flea's question. "No, Mistress," she whispered, once more bowing her head. A horrible thought had been growing in her mind ever since the first day she had been given the healer-mage colors, and finally she couldn't ignore it or hold it back any longer, not with Flea asking these questions. "It… is tech, Mistress?" she asked desperately.
Flea stroked Lyn's face again, but her smile was cruel. "Oh, it is a tech, girl. But are techs magic? You're going to help me find out." Done with the conversation, Flea stood and moved away from the still-kneeling slave. "You sleep there," the mage said, pointing at the door between the wall with the blue tapestry and the one with the violet tapestry. With a final, insincere, smile, Flea went through the door across from the hall, pink braid swaying as she left the room.
Bewildered by Flea's sudden change of mood and the feelings the Mazoku's touch had brought, Lyn stood clumsily, looking at the door her Mistress had indicated. Deciding that her words had been an order, Lyn went and opened it. The room beyond was little more than a closet with an extremely narrow cot. There was a very thin blanket covering the cot. Luckily, the castle was actually fairly warm, although early summer was probably part of the cause. The lack of windows and thus, drafts, likely made it warmer as well.
Lyn dispiritedly lay down on the small bed, drawing the blanket over her more for comfort then warmth. She was beginning to think that Flea, at least, of the Mazoku she had met, might deserve the title of 'monster'. She wondered just who the Mazoku woman was. Someone of importance, likely, from the fact she lived in the Castle, and seemed to have a rather large set of rooms as well. That might explain why Esaku had been so quick to let her take Lyn, and the sorrow the Human had seen in his eyes. Flea had mentioned Algetty, and Lyn remembered Esaku's statement about his loss of status. That had to be it, then. This Flea was someone important, and had pulled rank in some way to make Esaku give up Lyn.
No longer feeling betrayed by Esaku's actions, Lyn tried to relax. She didn't know what the next day would bring, but the way Flea had spoken, it would not be pleasant. It was best to sleep while she could, she had already learned that. And so, in time, she slept.
Things start getting fun here... Please review.